


Ghosts In The Halls

by Morning_Glory



Series: With An Edge And A Charm [2]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thor (Movies)
Genre: F/M, M/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Nightmares, Other, Relationship Issues
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-14
Updated: 2015-06-14
Packaged: 2018-04-04 09:06:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,083
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4131918
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Morning_Glory/pseuds/Morning_Glory
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Despite Bucky’s insistence that they shouldn’t push, Steve just can't let it be. Not with what happened hanging between them. Darcy is too important for them to risk letting her slip away without a fight.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Ghosts In The Halls

**Author's Note:**

> After everything that happened last time, Steve and Darcy needed to have a moment to themselves. Set around 6 weeks post-The Space Between.   
> As always, all mistakes are mine, all characters are sadly not.

Steve takes a deep breath as he stares at the door to the lab, shifting on his feet and rubbing at the back of his neck with his free hand. There’s no reason he should be feeling this way-- like a nervous teen on his first date. It’s just Darcy. They’ve been friends long enough to have gotten past all the awkwardness. Or so he’d thought.

Things have been different since that morning in the kitchen.

After a few days apart that she’d insisted was to let the bruises fade so they wouldn’t be such a blatant reminder of what happened, things almost returned to normal. At least, it had felt that way at the time. Looking back at it now, without the overwhelming _relief_ that she hadn’t been scared away colouring their perceptions, there were definitely signs he and Bucky had missed. It had been such a subtle transition that neither of them noticed when Darcy started pulling away. At first. Over time it became more obvious-- the way she came around less and stopped spending the night entirely. She hasn’t shied away from either of them physically, but there’s still something noticeably off about their recent interactions.

The worst part is that they know she isn’t just making excuses to avoid them. Even Thor has been complaining that with Jane so close to making a breakthrough both women have been locked in the lab more than usual-- a fact Darcy seems to be taking advantage of.

So, despite Bucky’s guilty conscience making him insist that they shouldn’t push, Steve just can't let it be-- not when there is something wrong between them that she isn’t talking about. Their friendship is too important to risk letting it slip away without a fight.

Steve steels his resolve and knocks on the door. No answer. He tries again, checking with JARVIS that it's safe to go in when he's still met with silence. He waits for the all clear from the AI before entering, adjusting his grip on the bag of Thai takeout he'd intended as a peace offering-- or maybe a bribe so Darcy will actually talk to him.

He can hear the machines working, but no evidence of anyone moving around inside. A light that isn’t usually on catches his attention, and Steve peeks into the rarely used office to find Jane asleep on the couch. Putting the bag down on the desk, he grabs the blanket off the filing cabinet, doing his best to keep quiet as he moves around the cluttered space.

Jane mumbles something incoherent, eyes cracking open as he settles the blanket over her. Steve shushes her, smiling when she snuggles into the blanket and drifts off again as she realizes it’s just him. He picks up the food and turns off the light as he goes, leaving the door open a crack before he wanders deeper into the space to find Darcy. There’s really only one place for her to be, now that Jane had been accounted for.

Darcy was the one who’d insisted on having a couch in the actual lab-- something closer to the equipment for easier monitoring. She was right, and it had seen more use than the one in the office by far. That is where Steve expects to see her, and he isn’t disappointed.

As he takes in the familiar sight of Darcy crashed out on the couch, something she’s done at his place enough times over the years for him to know how she normally sleeps, he can tell something is off. Darcy doesn’t curl up so tightly and never sleeps with her back to the room like that-- not when things are okay. Part of him wonders what it says about their relationship that even such a small sign is enough to tip him off. When she makes a soft, wounded sound, it draws a second look.

Steve puts the food down on her desk, moving closer as she starts shaking. He reaches Darcy just in time to catch her as the sudden thrashing tips her off the cushions. As his arms wrap around her, keeping her steady without letting her hit the floor, she gasps, eyes flying open and frantically seeking something to focus on. The realization that this is at least part of why she’s been avoiding them is swift.

Her eyes clench shut again when she finally recognizes him, grimacing as she fights to get her breathing under control. It doesn’t take long for her to _appear_ calm-- on the surface at least. Steve knows her too well to buy the act. He may not be as skilled at it as Bucky, but he still sees easily through the mask she’s hiding behind. He’s learned to read her well enough over the years to pick up on the tightness around her eyes and the tension at the corners of her lips. Any other time he’d be willing to let it pass-- it wouldn’t be the first time. She likes to keep some things private, and he’s always tried to respect that, but this time is different. He can’t leave this one alone-- not with what happened hanging between them.

Darcy squirms against his hold, so he lifts her back onto the couch and steps back to give her space. The last thing she probably wants right now is him looming over her while she tries to get her bearings. She shifts away, pulling her legs up to her chest and resting her chin on her knees as she watches him roll the chair over from her desk. The silence drags out until Steve sighs and decides getting straight to the point is the best way to go.

"This is why you've been avoiding us." It's not a question. She starts to protest, but he cuts her off with a look. Darcy closes her eyes and nods.

Okay, he can handle this.

"Because of what happened with Bucky that morning?" Steve already knows the answer, but he needs to hear her confirm it. She nods again, watching for how he reacts. Before he can figure out what to say, she starts apologizing, but Steve cuts her off quickly, adamant that she doesn't have to.

"Just talk to me, Darcy." She fidgets with the sleeves of her sweater, still not saying anything, and only looking at him in quick glances. He tries to sound reassuring as he tells her it’s okay to be scared, but that only makes her snap at him.

"I'm not _scared_. Even when I couldn’t breathe that was never the problem." Steve frowns at that. He'd been at the mercy of the Winter Soldier before, and knows exactly how terrifying that can be. If she's repressing what happened enough to not even want to admit her own fear, that's a very bad sign. Maybe Bucky was right and it was too soon for this.

"How much did you see that morning?" she asks, still not quite looking at him. Deciding that honesty is the way to go here, he admits exactly when he showed up-- the details are still fresh in his mind, even after this long. He's not sure if he wants her to ask why he stayed, whether it's the right time for that discussion, but Darcy surprises him with her next comment. "I know you stayed because you saw the Soldier's uniform and knew something was off."

Steve barely keeps from wincing at the guilty rush. That had been far from his mind at the time, too caught up in the intimacy of what he was watching. Too lost in his own longing to be a part of it, if he's being honest with himself. He hadn't even registered the possibility of danger until Bucky told him the truth about what happened. He's had his own nightmares about how different a scene he could have walked in on that morning.

"That's not--" Steve tries to tell her the truth, Darcy deserves that much from him at least, but she cuts him off again.

"I know there's more to it than that," she shakes her head, managing a bit of a smile. It’s not exactly what he would call a happy smile. "Most people would hang around to confront their sort-of boyfriend if they caught him having sex with someone else in their shared kitchen."

He must look surprised because she rolls her eyes at him, telling him she's not blind. Darcy stops looking at him as she apologizes, murmuring about hoping she didn't mess things up for them. It hits him then, that this, more than the nightmares, is what has been keeping her away. She's worried that she'd inadvertently hurt their relationship.

Quick to reassure her that everything is okay, Steve wishes he could tell her what he's really thinking-- share with her what he and Bucky had discussed and see if she might be interested in exploring that with them. But it's clearly not the right time, not when she feels guilty about what happened and chose to avoid them because of it.

"Don't worry about _us_ , Darce. We're more worried about _you_. Have you even talked to anyone about what happened?" The way she continues to avoid his eyes as she picks at the threads of her sweater tells him that she hasn't-- not really. "Talk to me."

"Did he tell you what I said to him? My “last words”?" she wiggles her fingers in a flimsy approximation of air quotes before tugging her sleeves down over her hands completely. He can see the way she repeatedly squeezes the fabric in her fists and releases it.

It's not exactly where he expected the conversation to go, but Steve rolls with it. He shakes his head and admits that Bucky had stayed away from most of the specifics of that-- only saying that she'd talked him down. Darcy bites her bottom lip and continues fidgeting, hesitating to the point where Steve worries she might actually draw blood. Just as he considers stepping in, she starts talking.

"I forgave him, and told him I didn't blame him." Another hesitation. "I told him I _loved_ him."

Steve’s heart clenches at how distressed Darcy sounds as she says it. It's nowhere near the first time she's said the words to either of them-- Darcy has always been free with her affection when it comes to the people she cares about. Something else must be going on for her to react this way.

The idea comes suddenly, and Steve barely manages to stifle a gasp as he considers that maybe it was the first time Darcy intended the words as something more than friendly. He shakes his head to clear that thought. It's not the time to indulge in wishful thinking. He needs to focus on what's important right now.

"Darce, you did what you needed to-- what you thought was necessary." She's shaking her head before he finishes the first thought.

"I know he'd never forgive himself if the worst happened, but I couldn't," she stops, as if the words stick in her throat. As hard as it is, he waits for her to continue in her own time. He has a pretty good idea of what she's trying to say, but knows it's important to the healing process for her to express it herself. Sam would be proud he'd remembered that. "He's one of my best friends, Steve, and I didn't want his last memory of me to be _that_."

And that's his limit reached. He can't stand it anymore-- not when she's got that look on her face. Steve is sitting beside her and pulling her into his arms within seconds. Darcy offers no resistance, curling into him with a shaky breath and letting him hold her as she breaks.

It's not the first time they've done this, him offering comfort after a rough time, though it is rare and usually the nightmares are older-- memories of London and New Mexico, triggered by whatever horrible thing the latest villain of the week threw at the team. This time is different. Steve holds her, trying to be soothing as she repeats how sorry she is.

"You didn't do anything wrong," he tells her firmly, when she's coherent enough to listen. Once upon a time, he had been the one to tell her that her best chance was to try to get Bucky to remember her by any means. When push came to shove, she'd actually done it-- and succeeded. Steve takes a deep breath as he decides to test a theory. If he's wrong, Darcy will no doubt correct him. He admits Bucky told him about her offer, all of it, and why he took it.

"You offered him something no one else would have thought to-- concerned only about his comfort." Darcy curls tighter against him, but doesn't protest, so Steve keeps going. "Darce, there aren't a lot of people who'd be willing to go to those lengths for a friend, especially after everything that happened. It helped him-- more than you could have suspected it would at the time. Do you regret it?"

After a long pause, one Steve tries not to let worry him too much because it means she’s actually thinking about it, Darcy shakes her head and tells him no, she doesn't regret it. He kisses the top of her head as she hides against his chest, holding her closer to him as he whispers how grateful they both are for everything she did.

"Don't know what we woulda done without you, Darce." It's as honest as he's comfortable being at the moment, and he holds her extra tight as he says it, trying not to get caught up in just how true that statement really is. She's a part of them, so much more than she knows, even if friendship is all they ever have with each other. Now just isn't the right time for anything more. Maybe there never will be a right time, but what they have already is good and he can't imagine life without her anymore. It was bad enough with her avoiding them-- to lose her completely would be unthinkable. "Please, stop avoiding us."

"I don't want Bucky to know--"

"You think he hasn't guessed?" Steve rubs her back as she tenses. "He's trying to avoid this as much as you are. And, he's gonna kill me when he finds out I came here to push the issue with you."

He doesn't realize until the words are out of his mouth that it could be considered in bad taste to make a joke like that to someone who'd only just recently survived an attempted strangling by the same man. Steve curses, stammering an apology, but Darcy just muffles a tired laugh against his chest. His hands fall to her waist as she shifts and when she settles back to look him in the face, she doesn't hesitate to meet his eyes anymore.

"You're kinda shit at this reassurance thing, you know that?" Her eyes are brighter than he's seen in a while, and the ache in his chest eases at the fact that she's comfortable enough to tease him again.

"But I brought the food and everything," Steve teases back with a pretend pout. He knows the effect it has on her-- how hard she has to fight not to give in when he does it. He wonders if she even realizes the little noises she makes every time he does it-- the shaky gasps and barely there whimpers he'd never be able to hear if not for the serum enhancing his senses. That's a dangerous train of thought to follow, especially with her still in his lap. Definitely bad timing to be wondering about other ways to get her to make those sounds.

"Oh, well in that case," Darcy's snarky response trails off as she watches him. He offers what he hopes is a reassuring smile, and she bites her lip again. "Are you _sure_ , Steve? Please be sure. I can't--"

"I'm sure," he cuts her off before she can fall too far back into worrying. "You did nothing wrong. There's nothing to forgive. We want you back with us, as long as you're comfortable with that. Is that clear enough for you?" Darcy nods, leaning her forehead to his.

"I just don’t want to come between you,” and there’s a dirty joke in there, waiting to be made, but Steve resists the temptation. Any other time, he would, just for Darcy's reaction-- the not-entirely-fake shock and laughter that always follows him doing something so un-Cap-like, even after this long. But it doesn't feel right to do it when things are still off between them. It also hits a little too close to home right now, to the things he wants, but might never have. Instead, he brings his hands up to her cheeks to keep her where she is as he tells her again that she has nothing to worry about.

"We miss you, Darce," Steve pulls back just enough so their foreheads stop touching, then in again, giving her a light tap. He repeats the action twice more before stilling against her. "Please, no more avoiding us."

"I think I can do that," Darcy whispers back. The silence that falls between them is surprisingly comfortable given everything that has happened. It almost feels _normal_.

The moment breaks with the low rumble of Darcy's stomach. With a soft curse, she puts her hands against his chest to brace herself as she pushes away. It's probably just his imagination that she seems reluctant to move.

"You said something about food?" Darcy clears her throat and takes a breath as she stands up, and Steve just catches sight of her blush before she turns away. Her back stays to him as she drags the chair he'd moved back to her desk and sits down, reaching for the bag of takeout.

Steve watches as Darcy dishes out food for them both, still without looking at him. When she starts eating without comment, he gets suspicious-- she’s too quiet. She almost seems _flustered_ , which is so rare for her. It’s been years since that was an issue between them-- not since the very beginning when things had skewed more flirty than friendly. As he thinks it over a little longer, Steve can’t help but grin.

Maybe it isn't just wishful thinking, after all.

**Author's Note:**

> I don't know when it will be done, but Part 3 is already in progress, and it looks like these 3 are finally getting their acts together for it ;)


End file.
